USMLE World Scores and Step II Scores

[lmh14]

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Probably been discussed before, but can't find a recent thread....

I'm just curious about what scores people were getting on USMLE World, and then how you ended up doing on Step 2.

All you have to do is post two numbers...... 🙂

Thanks folks, and good luck with everything!!

 

[kaboodle]

Why does Dr. McSteamy's picture freek me out so much...?

 

[Dr McSteamy]

Why does Dr. McSteamy's picture freek me out so much...?

i get that a lot recently.

not to get off topic though...........

 

[domer621]

Also, does everybody get a 99 on step 1 and step 2 I mean has that become the average?

This is SDN, dude (gunner central). The Step 1 national avg last year was a 218 I think... far from a 99.

 

[Topology]

Hi guys,

I'm a DO student. I just received my Step 2 scores last wed.
Here is what I used: FIRST AID and USMLE WORLD -> that's all you neeed. I studied for 3.5 wks 8-10 hrs a day w/ sunday off.

STEP 1: 225/93 (NBME 2: 235)
STEP 2: 250/99 (NO money for NBME; UW - 67% (Timed/Once/100% complete))

Time to celebrate now.

Pe@ce and best of luck to everyone!

 

[mitosis14]

Any advice on what kind of score I need to get on Step 2 for Urology? I got a 219 on Step 1. Also, when should I take step 2? Thanks

 

[mitosis14]

Does anyone know the average for this year?

 

[Babycatcher2B]

Any advice on what kind of score I need to get on Step 2 for Urology? I got a 219 on Step 1. Also, when should I take step 2? Thanks

Since when a 219 is a bad step 1 score??

 

[GatorEM]

Since when a 219 is a bad step 1 score??

When you're applying for Urology...😛

 

[domer621]

Does anyone know the average for this year?

225 for Step 2.

 

[bigdan]

STEP 1: 225/93 (NBME 2: 235)
STEP 2: 250/99 (NO money for NBME; UW - 67% (Timed/Once/100% complete))

Time to celebrate now.

And celebrate you should! Great job! I dream of having a similar improvement.

dc

 

[Bito42]

Hey guys- so i've been studying for a few weeks, but only in the evenings until my rotation ended. I've had one full week of just studying, and am scheduled to take this test in 5 days. I've gone through FA once and took notes. Right now my UW is not that great mostly 50s (but range of 43-63). I got a 220 on step 1, and am I'm going into medicine.

Any advice on how I should structure these next few days? my plan was to finish the rest (about 40% left) of UW, go through my FA notes, and go through as many incorrect UW questions as I can. How does that sound? any thoughts on whether i should extend this? (i REALLY want to get it over with but i tend not to think rationally when I'm weighing studying vs vacation time).

thanks in advance for your help.

 

[Babycatcher2B]

Hey guys- so i've been studying for a few weeks, but only in the evenings until my rotation ended. I've had one full week of just studying, and am scheduled to take this test in 5 days. I've gone through FA once and took notes. Right now my UW is not that great mostly 50s (but range of 43-63). I got a 220 on step 1, and am I'm going into medicine.

Any advice on how I should structure these next few days? my plan was to finish the rest (about 40% left) of UW, go through my FA notes, and go through as many incorrect UW questions as I can. How does that sound? any thoughts on whether i should extend this? (i REALLY want to get it over with but i tend not to think rationally when I'm weighing studying vs vacation time).

thanks in advance for your help.

I took Step 2 a week and 2 days ago. USMLE World has all the content of the test. I'd say try and finish USMLE World if you can, even though you only have a few days left.

 

[northandponce]

where do you guys come up with the "mean"/average scores for this year? Is there some sort of statistical data?

 

[domer621]

where do you guys come up with the "mean"/average scores for this year? Is there some sort of statistical data?

Just like when they gave you your Step 1 score, they tell you what the recent average Step 2 score is, as well. My score report said it was 225 with an SD of 24 for first-time test takers from the US and Canada.

 

[northandponce]

weird, i don't remember seeing that on my score report for step 1!

 

[blabbyblab]

Whew!

Step1 239
finished USMLEworld 64% timed random 46q blocks
Free 150 85%
NBME #1 230

Read once through Step-up to medicine, Secrets, and sporadic first aid 2CK. Also read Kaplan surgery and OBGYN notes x1.

Step2 250

Special thanks to forum members for providing a very helpful thread.

 

[Ypo.]

Got my step2 score back today after only two weeks.

I studied 24 days. Used Crush and UWorld. Read through Crush as I was doing questions and annotated. Read through it once only. Also used pocket medicine to review IM; that book was fricking awesome and I wish I'd had it during my rotation.

Average on last 5 UW blocks random, timed=65%.
Overall UW average (all random timed) = 63%. Did about 3 sets a day, then read through all the marked and wrong questions several times later in the day and a second time the next morning before moving on to the next new sets of questions. My strategy was not to overwhelm myself with too many questions or review books, so I picked a schedule I thought I could stick with instead.

NBME II=259.

I was a bit worried because according to this thread my UW score would have put me lower than the NBME score. But my NBME score was on the money (sorry, don't want to post my actual score as I'm a frequent visitor to SDN). I think even though my UW average wasn't that high, I learned a lot from the questions I got wrong.

I will echo what others have said, that UW is gold and that studying hard during your clerkships also helps (but you can make up for it, so don't freak out if you didn't do that well during third year).

 

[BabyPsychDoc]

So, it is over.

Step 1 - 238.
Step 2 - 257. Studied for about one-two hours a day April -July. Mostly used UW - finished 100% of the qs, scoring 70-75% on average (eg, my paeds scores were around 96% but my OBGYN scores started out EMBARRASSINGLY low). Went through all the incorrect qs the week before the exam. Read Kaplan's notes in Psych and OBGYN once each. Looked at the sheer volume of IM notes, shuddered and decided it would be an overkill. Did NBME one month prior to the test date - predicted score 255; felt qs were easy and completed each block with 10-15 min to spare. Leafed through the Crush the night before the test.

Was not happy at all with my performance at the test. Morning sickness is a bitch. Qs were longer and more vague than either on NBME or UW. Too many OBGYN qs. Too few paeds. Was happy to see some "Step 1" style qs. Ran out of time before completing the last 2 qs on 3 blocks out of 8. Was hoping to score above 220.

Now I just have the beast of Step 2 CS to deal with.

Good luck to you all.

 

[datucatu]

Step 1 229/95
Step 2 CK 244/99 😎 (took it on 7/25, results in today)
Step 2 CS Pass

USMLE World 61% (1st half subject based, 2nd half random, all timed)
NBME #1 229 (3 weeks before exam)
NBME #3 237 (2 weeks before exam)
NBME #2 235 (1 week before exam)

I've been a long time lurker on this site so just wanted to share my results. I'm a US born FMG so I really needed my scores to be decent. I studied for about 6 weeks without any rotations. I used Kaplan, USMLE World, First Aid, and some of Step Up. I thought Step 2 was more manageable than Step 1 to study for but the actual test was much more draining. You really need to build up your stamina for this one. I think World pretty much prepares you for what you're gonna see on the test. I took the NBME's to have some sort of gage on my progress since I didn't really know what my scores on World meant.

Thanks to all the gunners on this forum. You guys scared the ish out of me while studying for this test and really made me shoot for that 99. I'm so glad this is over. Just gotta survive applications. Good luck guys!

 

[ERJunkie]

Step 1: 222
Step 2: 252/99

Took it on 7/22, got scores back in exactly 3 weeks.

I'm also a long time lurker. All I can say is World, World, World. I studied for about 3.5 weeks with 2 days off ~8-12 hrs/day. Used Step Up to Medicine, First Aid, UW, and referenced a few other board study sources in areas I felt weak. UW has almost everything you need. If you take the time to actually study the questions and ask yourself why you missed each question (testing or knowledge), I think it'll take you a long way. Then, when you get to the point where you are sick of studying, just remember its about delayed gratification and keep going.

Good luck to everyone and thanks for the posts.

 

[Dr McSteamy]

impressive scores.

I have 9 days left.

i'm only doing UW and Secrets.

On most UW blocks, I'm at 60-64%. some dips to upper 50s

I hope I'm lucky. I just want 230.

 

[kwc1979]

100% of USMLE World completed scoring 60%
Step II: 237

 

[OrnotMajestic]

Step I: 211/87
Step II: 226/93

I completed 85% of UW with a 65% average. I'm fairly happy with my score, wish it could have been higher...but hey, I passed. At least I'm one step closer to graduating!
(Pun intended)

 

[climbingdocs]

Does anyone know what the 2 digit score is? How do they claclulate it?

 

[dhall1911]

Did you all get the email that you score would be availiable on the weds that they were available or did you receive notice prior?

 

[ERJunkie]

Did you all get the email that you score would be availiable on the weds that they were available or did you receive notice prior?

They Emailed me to notify my scores were available online.

 

[drlilmama]

I'm a D.O. student, and chose to take both sets of exams.

Comlex I 522/84
Step I 227/95

Comlex II 519/83 (didn't care about this one, just wanted to pass)
Step II 226/93 👎

I was disappointed with my step II score. Granted, I have not been in study mode since my first round of exams, and I've pushed my good test taking skills to the limit all of third year by studying only minimally the day before shelves (I never failed any, mostly 70s, and i scored a few mid 80s).

I took about 2-3 wks to study. I used UW as my primary study tool, 100% complete, 62% average or so (can't remember the actual score). I did subject blocks in tutor mode. I wasn't worried about timing. Overall a good teaching tool, as I was having a hard time getting myself to read anything.

I didn't use any books to study from, just skimmed secrets and jotted down random notes from UW. AND I studied around a lot of distractions..tv, babysitting my niece, etc.

I thought the actual USMLE was difficult, I felt I'd failed walking out of the exam. It is a LONG GRUELING exam and I was fatigued towards the end. My exam did not have many gimmes, and even though I read the question before the stem, 98% of the q's required me to read the entire novel-long paragraph. I second guessed myself a lot, when I should have answered and moved on.

My biggest issue was lack of motivation. So for all my fellow procrastinators out there...give yourself more than 2 weeks and focus! 🙄

 

[premed7]

Just thought I would post my experience, since I obsessively checked this thread for advice on studying and towards the end to try and predict my score. I am an average student. Shelf exams were in the 70's mostly, don't remember exact scores.

Step 1: 230
Step 2: 262

UW avg = 70% (completed all UW question)
NBME 2 = 252 (taken two weeks before test)

I am obviously thrilled with my improvement. I studied for 4 weeks and used FA, secrets, and UW. I read through FA in one week and did corresponding UW blocks for the subject that I had just read. I'll admit, I annotated UW into my FA the whole time (even two days before the test, I was still fursiously taking notes). This was not as helpful as when we did it for step 1, but I think the simple act of writing things down helped some.

Secrets - awesome book! I really wish I'd read this over again a few times, it's so easy to read and the material sticks better than FA in my opinion.

UW was a great source. However whenever I did question blocks, I felt cluless. There were so many times when I didn't even know what the question was asking but I somehow managed to get a decent percentage. This is how I felt with the NBME 2 and the real test. Clueless for many, many questions, but it turned out ok.

It has been said several times, and I'll say it again the real test is loooong, and tough. What made it worse was that during blocks, a question would remind me of previous question from another block and I would suddenly realize that I had gotten it wrong. This just contributed to my anxiety.

One other thing, I made sure to take a practice test at least two weeks before the test. For step 1, I took one two days before and I just freaked out because I wasn't even close to getting what I had wanted. So for those of you with test anxiety, keep a safe distance between the practice test and the real thing.

Hope this helps! And good luck to everyone =)

 

[Babycatcher2B]

Just got my scores, and I am really shocked and excited about my scores.

Step 1 = 219
Step 2 CK = 248/99

I am really tired and I need to wake up at 5 AM so I will post my UW World Scores and my study strategies tomorrow. Just happy I improved so much!!!!!

 

[bbtbay]

Just got my scores, and I am really shocked and excited about my scores.

Step 1 = 219
Step 2 CK = 248/99

I am really tired and I need to wake up at 5 AM so I will post my UW World Scores and my study strategies tomorrow. Just happy I improved so much!!!!!

Great score! When did you take the test? How did you find out?

 

[Babycatcher2B]

Great score! When did you take the test? How did you find out?

I took it on July 31st and I went to NBME website last night and logged on and my score report was ready after midnight. I got the official email this morning howver.

 

[superoxide]

Step 1: 203/83 (second attempt)
Step 2: 188/77 (first attempt)

Poor score, but very happy that I don't have to go through that again. Now I just got to pass my CS retake.

 

[Chrysanthemum]

Alright peoplez... I've waited a lonnnng time to add to this list ...

UW: ~ 70% completed with cumulative score of 61%
NBME 1: 222 (about 2 weeks before exam)
NBME 2: 239 (6 days before)

COMLEX I = 578, 87
COMLEX CE = 620, 90
USMLE CK = 244, 99


Most of what I knew came from studying hard throughout the year. I reviewed for about 4 weeks but all that did was fill in the gaps and taught me how to read the questions.

I wrote down every answer that I could from UW and looked each of them up. I especially made sure to read thoroughly about every question I got wrong.

CK was a well written exam with excellent pictures. The questions gave enough information to rule out the other options. I didn't have to guess what the logic of the question writer was --> unlike the COMLEX. 🙄

In case the DO students are worried about timing between exams I took the COMLEX one week before the USMLE.

Good luck! 👍

 

[cdcello]

Allright, felt like I needed to add some sanity to this thread. NOT EVERYONE IS CRAZY SMART AROUND HERE!

Step I: 213 (meh...)

Step II: 231 (yay!)

I raised my score and I am very happy with the results. You do not have to score in the 240-250s to get a residency! I feel (as been said before) score reporting on this forum is skewed due to the impetus most go-getters have and being the majority of users on this forum. There is such a thing as an average med student! Most of the doctors in this country were at one time average med students!

I studied for 4 weeks using UW and Crush and thats it. 75% of questions on tutor keeping a notebook of important facts, missed concepts etc with no question repeats.

 

[EMnole]

USMLE World cumulative score: 59 -61%
Step 2 score: 230

 

[Babycatcher2B]

Just got my scores, and I am really shocked and excited about my scores.

Step 1 = 219
Step 2 CK = 248/99

I am really tired and I need to wake up at 5 AM so I will post my UW World Scores and my study strategies tomorrow. Just happy I improved so much!!!!!

I am not the greatest test taker and I believe most of my shelf scores for 3rd year were average. For this exam I studied for about 5 weeks. The first week was light studying reading Secrets and completing it. The other 4 weeks were USMLE World question, 100% completed, 66% overall. Most in timed, random questions. I read 95% of the explanantions (toward the end I was running out of time so I only read the questions I got wrong) and made notes on all the stuff I didn't know or wanted to remember later on. Filled about 2.5 70 page notebooks of notes I took from USMLE World. Never got a chance to go back and reread the notebooks, but I would refer to them at times (looking up stuff I knew I had written in the notebooks for reinforcement). I also referenced Step Up to Medicine alot and reread some chapters I knew I was shaky on. So Secrets, USMLE World and Step Up to Medicine were my only resources. I studied about 6 hours the first week (probably less than that), while I was reading Secrets. 8 hour during weeks 2-3, and about 10-12 hours the last 2 weeks. Took very few days off (to celebrate the 4th with some friends, to write personal statement, or just not in the mood for intense studying). The only thing I didn't get a chance to do, but what I think is essential and good for last minute recall is reread secrets in its entity a couple of days before the exam. Alot of questions on the test, were directly from Secrets and after the test all I had to do was open Secrets and there was the answer. Hope this helps those still preparing to take it and those who will be preparing in the future. Good Luck!!!!

 

[anesonia]

Step I: 221

NBME 2 (2 weeks before): 217
USMLE World last 10 blocks: 63% 46 q blocks, unused, timed
USMLE total: 61% did some during rotations
Shelf tests: 68, 72, 73, 75, 77, 84

Did all of World, read about half of secrets, studied for basically 2 weeks straight

Step II: 229

 

[globallmedicine]

step 1: 237
step 2: 235

nbme 2 (10 days before exam): 540
nbme 3 (4 days before): 570

studied for about 3-3.5 weeks of real studying (it was hard to be motivated)

did 95% of world and overall average was 57% (all random sets), with last 300 around 62%.

 

[cytotech27]

Step 1: 214
Step 2: 244
USMLE World 61% correct
all questions completed

This site really helped me during my studying, so I am paying it forward. I am by no means a stellar student, mostly average on everything. Getting this test out of they way feels great going into application season.

 

[DOme2009]

USMLE step I - 252
USMLE step II - 268
did UW (finished) - ~70% (towards the end i was around 80% per 46 q and even hit 92% once, i was like wtf)
read FA twice thru and just made a notebook full of stuff from UW and studied that after i realized FA wasn't helping. did this for about a month, missed a couple of days d/t hangovers

 

[lovely22]

Step 1: 200
Step 2CK: 242

Studied for about 5 weeks (doing other little things here and there). Went through UWorld 1.5x, Step UP, Secrets.
NBME 1 (1.5 weeks in)- 231
NBME 2 (3 weeks in)- 241
NBME 3 (few days before)- 237

My cumulative for UWorld was 64% first time through. Very average medical student at a top 20 medical school. I don't do so well on standardized tests. In fact the last time I rocked a standardized test was the SATs. Shelfs were in the 70s mostly.

 

[lisagbaby]

omgggggggggggg finally done
I just took step 2 today and i dont' feel awful about it, but i don't feel that great either...i always felt like i was rushing thruogh it cuz i was so tired of doign the questions and some were easier than world, some were directly from world, and some were so random i didn't even know what to think

i was so sick of studying by the end.
i started studying 6 weeks before doing 2-4 hours a day and then
3 weeks before doing more like 8 hours a day consisting of 4 hours of questions (100) and 4 hours of reading First Aid and comparing first aid to Secrets and Boards and Wards and filling in the extra info from secrets/BW into the margins of First Aid, that way i consolidated everything into one source to review.

USMLEWORLD OVERALL average 65% and my last 8 untimed, random unused exams had an average of 68.5%.....so according to this site that's pretty good......

on my step 1 i took it earlier than everyone cuz i had my wedding and got a 225/94 last june.
i was ok with that score but i wanna go into radiology so i needed to increase it and i definitely put in the effort for step 2 but i have no idea.

 

[medicinehopeful]

i've used this website a lot to help with my study plan, so here are my stats to help future students.

usmle step 1 - 232

studying for step 2 - about 8 hours per day for 3 weeks and some days off
i used - usmle world, first aid for step 2, and step 2 secrets
nbme form 1 - 232 (1 week before test)
nbme form 2 - 217 (3 days before test...a huge blow)

final usmle step 2 score - 249

overall -
first aid is not great. in retrospect, i would have just read peds/psych/obgyn in firstaid and read step up to medicine instead.
step 2 secrets is amazing - i read it about 1.5 times. i should have read it more.
usmle world - you need this to clinch the score - i finished all of it and redid some of the questions that i missed. avg - 63%

ask if you have any questions.

 

[carnaf]

Step I: 208/85
Step II: 238/99

Study strategy:
Took test end of July. Started studying around May, just doing questions relevant to my rotation. Started studying hardcore end of June, 6 weeks total.
-USMLEworld x 2 times. First time around, 50s-60s, second time around 80s-90s. (i recommend doing 4 blocks daily. 2 blocks topic specific - i would do two topics at a time, then 2 random blocks. when going over answer, would use secrets and FA as guide.)
-Secrets x 2 times
-FA x 2 times

I'm from a top 15 school and felt so disappointed in myself for not getting the mean score on step 1 here (~230s). I didn't do nearly as many questions as I should have for step 1. I wanted to go into medicine from the beginning but it was hard to know that there were other fields I couldn't even consider given my step 1 score.

Great recs though, never did that well on shelves. happy that i showed improvement on step 2.

good luck all.

 

[Dr McSteamy]

crap.

i just took ck today, and it was just as hard as UW. There were only 2-3 of those new "locked in" questions in the whole exam. so that wasn't bad.
I threw away some stupid free points by not knowing meningitis treatment. There was a grip of meningitis questions.

The first block was such a downer. I was like "WTF" through the whole block. i marked at least half the questions. I hope it was experimental. What a way to start huh? like a punch in the face before you even get on your feet.

i'd say that maybe <10% of the questions were a variation on UW questions. a few were identical. it seemed about 30% of the content was mentioned in UW in some form.

The other 60% was fresh material. And those few biostats questions were KILLER!!! If i spent a week studying biostats, i don't think I'd still be able to answer those questions. so screw biostats. They're not easy free points.

Distribution of material was pretty even across all the cores. surgery questions were mostly trauma cases.

i don't have a good feeling about this. I always get farked on these standardized tests. Although i averaged around 60-62% on UW the first time, I bet I totally bombed this and will end up with <200. 🙁

 

[echinoderm]

sorry if this is redundant, or answered elsewhere...

but how does the kaplan materials (whether it be the books or on-line banks) compare to usmleworld? i did usmleworld throughout my third year for shelf exams... i'm debating on if i should re-subscribe for a month, or try a different qbank.

thanks!

 

[GLW102]

I've posted on this before, but I thought they were equivalent. The new Kaplan Qbank is tough, not like the old one. I did some sets with UW and thought it was about the same with different emphasis as the only difference. In your experience, I'd get a new Qbank as you've already done the UW one's throughout the year. Good luck!

 

[xcb5]

just got my step 2 scores back a last week.

Step 1 - 194
Step 2 - 226 😀

I'm a pretty average med student. Mostly 70s for my shelfs, middle of my class. Definitely excited to have improved so much over my lousy Step 1. I read through Crush a few times and did World ~1.5x with an average about the 60-65% first time through. A few blocks have very similar material as world, but was otherwise your usual wtf???

So for all of us "normal" med students out there. You can do it! We'll just hope everyone else on this forum rockin the >240s save us a few residency spots while they're fightin it out for those derm and plastics spots. 😛

GLuck to everyone with ERAS!

 

[live2theedge]

Echinoderm.How did it workout using UW for shelfs?

 

[pristine21]

Hey everyone- I take my step 2 CK on Thursday (2 days) and I am using primarily U-world. I have been using the general rule "when unsure pick the weird one" ie the one that you never heard of, but the others dont fit, and it has been working pretty well for me. Has anyone else known that phenomenon? Did it work on the real thing?